Election preview: Two requests on ballot in Constantine district

Friday

Nov 1, 2013 at 9:00 AM

Voters in the Constantine Public Schools district will decide on two issues Tuesday at the polls.

By Rosalie Currierrcurrier@sturgisjournal.com

Voters in the Constantine Public Schools district will decide on two issues Tuesday at the polls.One is a request for an 18-mill operating proposal levied on second homes, businesses and incorporated farms — but not on principal residences. Approval of the millage is required for the district to collect the per-pupil foundation allowance from the state of Michigan.“We have to (pass) it by 2015 in order to continue on with our operational budget,” said Superintendent Chuck Frisbie.In 2015, cuts would be drastic, especially in sports and transportation, Frisbie said.A second proposal asks voters to allow the district to borrow $6.6 million for upgrades at the middle school building.Approving it will not cost the voters additional taxes — it is not an increase in millage or in the number of years left on the existing bonds, Frisbie said.He explained that, in the past, voters approved three separate bond issues. Over the years, the district refinanced the loans made possible by those bonds and it has saved a considerable amount of money.If voters pass the proposal, it allows for a $6.6 million improvement to the middle school building, rather than $14 million it would cost to eventually replace the facility, he said.“The middle school is the one building we haven’t improved,” Frisbie said.When the high school bond passed, money also was used to upgrade the two elementary buildings, but no work was done on the middle school at that time.Contractors who inspected middle school said $6.6 million would keep the building viable for another 50 years, Frisbie said.The polls are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Tuesday.